Cereus (plant)

Cereus are shrubby or treelike, often attaining great heights (C. hexagonus, C. lamprospermus, C. trigonodendron up to 15 metres or 49 feet). Most stems are angled or distinctly ribbed, ribs 3–14 centimetres (1+1⁄4–5+1⁄2 inches) long, usually well developed and have large areoles, usually bearing spines. Cephalium is not present; C. mortensenii develops pseudocephalium. The flowers are large, funnelform, 9–30 cm (3+1⁄2–11+3⁄4 in) long, usually white, sometimes pink, purple, rarely cream, yellow, greenish, and open at night. The fruits are globose to ovoid to oblong, 3–13 cm (1+1⁄4–5 in) long, fleshy, naked, usually red but sometimes yellow, pulp white, pink or red. The seeds are large, curved ovoid, glossy black.[6]

The name Cereus originates in a book by Tabernaemontanus published in 1625 and refers to the candle-like form of species C. hexagonus. It was described by Philip Miller in 1754, and included all known cacti with very elongated bodies.[7]

Flower of Cereus fernambucensis (syn. Cereus neotetragonus)

Ludwig Pfeiffer in 1838 distinguished Cephalocereus (type Cephalocereus senilis); the name is derived from the Greek κεφᾶλή (cephalē; 'head') thus headed cereus, referring to the hairy pseudocephalium.[8] Charles Lemaire described Pilocereus in 1839, now renamed as Pilosocereus. The name Pilocereus is derived from the Greek πῖλος (pilos), felted, hairy, thus hairy cereus, similar to the Latin pilosus, from which the name Pilosocereus was derived.[9] Echinocereus (type Echinocereus viridiflorus) was described in 1848 by George Engelmann; the name is derived from the Greek ἐχῖνος (echinos; 'hedgehog' or 'sea urchin').[10]

Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose (1919–1923) as well as Alwin Berger (1929) continued to divide Cereus into many genera. The 33 or so species that remain in the Cereus group are largely plants that have not been moved out of the genus rather than plants that have been included because they fit the description of Cereus. This inclusion-by-lack-of-exclusion makes for a very messy and unsatisfactory grouping.[5]

Some sources include the genus Mirabella Cereus as a subgenus, C. subg. Mirabella.[11]

Species

Cereus hexagonus at Tenneti Park in Visakhapatnam

As of September 2023, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species:[1]

Image	Scientific name	Distribution
	Cereus aethiops Haw.	Argentina to Uruguay
	Cereus bicolor Rizzini & A.Mattos	W. Central Brazil
	Cereus fernambucensis Lem.	Brazil
	Cereus forbesii C.F.Först.	Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay
	Cereus fricii Backeb.	Colombia, Venezuela
	Cereus hexagonus (L.) Mill.	Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
	Cereus hildmannianus K.Schum.	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay
	Cereus horrispinus Backeb.	Colombia, Venezuela
	Cereus insularis Hemsl.	Brazil (Pernambuco)
	Cereus jamacaru DC.	Brazil
	Cereus lamprospermus K.Schum.	Bolivia, Paraguay
	Cereus lanosus (F.Ritter) P.J.Braun	Brazil, Paraguay
	Cereus lepidotus Salm-Dyck	Colombia, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuela
	Cereus mortensenii (Croizat) D.R.Hunt & N.P.Taylor	Venezuela
	Cereus pachyrrhizus K.Schum.	Paraguay
	Cereus phatnospermus K.Schum.	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
	Cereus pierre-braunianus Esteves	Brazil (NE Goiás)
	Cereus repandus (L.) Mill.	Aruba, Colombia, Venezuela, Venezuela
	Cereus saddianus (Rizzini & A.Mattos) P.J.Braun	Brazil
	Cereus spegazzinii F.A.C.Weber	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
	Cereus stenogonus K.Schum.	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
	Cereus trigonodendron K.Schum. ex Vaupel	Bolivia, Brazil, Peru
	Cereus vargasianus Cárdenas	Peru
	Cereus yungasensis A.Fuentes & Quispe	Bolivia

The range includes Brazil, northern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia; more rarely it can be found in Peru, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.[6]

The fruits and stems of C. repandus are edible,[13] as is the fruit of many species in the genus; some perhaps have a laxative effect.[14] The wood has been used in making furniture and for firewood, and sliced stems have been used as a soap substitute.[13] The stems can be broken open for their pulp, a source of water.[14] The plant is also cultivated as a living fence.[13]

• 
  Charles Lemaire, Iconographie descriptive des cactées, 1841 – 7.
• 
  Cereus hildmannianus subsp. uruguayanus in shrub formation, Uruguay
• 
  High plants of Cereus jamacaru
• 
  Nocturnal flowers of Cereus jamacaru
• 
  Stems are segmented annually
• 
  Cereus forbesii
• 
  Fruits in cultivation
• 
  Edible fruits of Cereus repandus
• 
  Different monstrose forms
• 
  Flower bud of Cereus fernambucensis subsp. fernambucensis

• Media related to Cereus at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Cereus at Wikispecies
• Columnar cacti – Cereus
• Cactiguide Cereus